Deandre Ayton Didn’t Get What He Wanted, But He Might Have Gotten What He Needs
The Suns and limited free agent Deandre Ayton arrived to an arrangement on an extension the difficult way previous 7 days, with Phoenix right away matching Indiana’s 4-calendar year, 133 million dollar give to the previous #1 all round select.
Phoenix preferred Deandre Ayton on a four-yr extension all along, and irrespective of how dysfunctional the path was to achieving that objective, they acquired it carried out. It’s a earn for the Phoenix Suns, who are preventing to maintain a championship window cracked open up whilst concurrently negotiating to land Kevin Durant to support Devin Booker and Chris Paul.
In the stop, this could be a earn for Deandre Ayton too, as he’ll be approaching free company once more at age 27, but it is only a acquire for Ayton if he locks in and will make massive strides over the system of his second contract.
Ayton hasn’t usually gotten a reasonable shake from NBA admirers, who consistently issue out that he was chosen ahead of Luka Doncic and Trae Young, but he has been a excellent player on what has grow to be a contending crew.
Continue to, you do not have to be 1 of the lovers that has had Deandre Ayton under a microscope around the last 4 time to know that there are some enormous holes in both of those his activity and his approach that led to a deal standoff with the Suns relatively than an automatic supply for a 5-yr max rookie deal.
Even though Ayton has the physique and skillset of a dominant 90’s center (in a video game that has mainly evolved previous the need for one particular), Ayton struggles to maintain on to the basketball in website traffic, and his deficiency of physicality is ample to travel both equally young admirers and NBA oldheads crazy. Over his 4 year career, Ayton has only 47 more created absolutely free throws than he does turnovers. Though Ayton is a sound shot-alterer, he’s averaged a lot less than one particular blocked shot for each activity around the final two normal seasons blended.
Probably the most disheartening aspect of Ayton’s match is in the area of consistency, both equally in-video game and in excess of the class of a total season. There are incredibly few players that set up far more very first quarter points for each game at the center place, with Ayton position 4th very last yr at 5.9, behind MVP Nikola Jokic (7.8), all-star Karl Anthony-Towns (8.4), and Philadelphia franchise player Joel Embiid (8.5). Ayton’s production falls precipitously when the fourth quarter hits, rating 19th among facilities with 3.1 details per match, a single place at the rear of his very own 2021-2022 backup JaVale McGee. In addition, when Ayton has averaged a double-double for four consecutive seasons, he in fact has a lot more game titles performed with no a double-double more than the past two seasons (54) than he does games with a double-double (53).
Blend that with his PED suspension, his admission that he stays up most nights participating in online video game titles, his public declaration that he “doesn’t like the significant guy job,” and his noted feud with Suns coach Monty Williams that spilled about on to the courtroom in a sport 7 western convention finals blowout loss, and you have some really serious thoughts about regardless of whether Deandre Ayton will at any time fulfill his potential.
We know what a dominant center’s perspective and leadership is meant to glimpse like. We saw it in Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson and a lot more (None of whom, by the way, had their finest FG% season occur anywhere shut to Ayton’s vocation ordinary of 60%). Ayton has all-natural competencies that could set him that identical conversation some day, but Ayton has been quoted as saying his NBA aim was to accomplish his second contract, and it’s not unreasonable to imagine that if this cash robs him of any commitment to make improvements to, he could be in the identical conversation as an Andrew Bynum or Jahlil Okafor as a substitute.
At this issue, it is up to him.